


Retry

by ThatCatLover



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: AU, Multi, Really confusing AU concept
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 06:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15576240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatCatLover/pseuds/ThatCatLover
Summary: What if Homura restarted the loop on that last episode while Godoka had still been created? Now in a new timeline, Homura is trying again to save Madoka, but something's different. That being... things are actually going well for Homura?





	Retry

"I want to erase all witches before they are even born. I will erase every single witch in every universe, past and future with my own hands...I don't care what you call it. All those magical girls who held onto their hopes and fought against witches, I don't want to see them cry. I want them to stay smiling until the end. If any rule or law stands in my way I will destroy it. I will rewrite it. That is my prayer. That is my wish. Now grant it, Incubator!"

Homura watched as he friend’s chest glowed as her wish came true and cried. She had been so close. But now, after more than a hundred timelines did she realize that no matter how close she got, she would never win, never save Madoka. It was hopeless. She was climbing a staircase with Madoka at the top, but for every step she took, a new stair was added for her to climb. Over and over, climbing stair after stair, doomed to keep climbing and climbing and never reach the top and she was tired. So, so tired. Of timelines, of failing, of wishes and witches, broken soul gems and repeated school lessons and climbing that goddamned, never-ending staircase. 

And finally, because she was so sick and tired of fighting witches and the Incubator, Homura Akemi slipped on her staircase and fell. She watched helplessly as Madoka destroyed Walpurgisnacht with one magic arrow. Madoka’s form began to shimmer and glow. She was disappearing, Homura realized numbly. Madoka’s wish had been so great and powerful, she was no longer just an ordinary magical girl, she was something with immense power. Kyubey had compared Madoka to a god once before and gods didn’t exist on Earth but on somewhere entirely different. 

_ Homura was falling from her staircase, but if she could just grab a banister or even another stair, then maybe... _

Madoka’s hair was growing longer, her dress was changing, and an unearthly glow or light surrounded her. A sign of incredible magic. Gods didn’t exist on Earth, and Madoka was becoming a god, which meant Homura had to fix this now.

_ Falling. Falling, but- ah there!- a weak grasp on a stair. _

With her remaining strength, Homura gripped her shield.

“Madoka…” She croaked pathetically. She saw the new goddess turn to her and gasp as she realized what Homura was doing.

“Homura, no!” The goddess cried. Too late, Homura responded mentally.

_ Standing up from her place on the stairs, Homura looked upward and told herself to persevere. _

“Sorry, Madoka…” She murmured, then twisted her shield.

“Wait, stop!” The goddess yelled. Just as Homura began to disappear, a white burst of light shot from the goddess’s fingertip hitting Homura’s time shield.

_ Begin to climb your staircase again. _

Homura was sucked back in time.

\---------------------------------

Within seconds, Homura shot up in bed. She was in a new timeline, back in the hospital. Her hair was braided and cherry-framed glasses rested on her face, making her vision blurry seeing as she no longer needed them. She also couldn’t breathe.

She was panicking, she knew that. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she contemplated what she had just seen and internally chided herself. She had just nearly lost Madoka, and permanently this time. She had nearly given up on Madoka. Simply because she was tired she had nearly given up on the one thing that she had been fighting to protect for over a hundred timelines. She nearly gave up on the one thing that mattered most in the world because- why? Because she needed a break? Because she was exhausted and weak and miserable? Because she thought that never seeing Madoka again would be worth it to stop fighting? How could she have been so selfish?

Homura pulled her glasses off of her face and threw them on the floor. She transformed into her magical girl uniform, froze time, and grabbed a pillow. Stuffing her face into it she screamed, in frustration, fear, and sorrow. So close. She had been so close to both saving Madoka and losing her. Still in her frozen time, she slipped out of her hospital bed, picked up all of her belongings and the new Mitakihara Middle School uniform that a nurse had folded and placed on her bedside table. She walked to the door but just as she was about to leave, something caught her eye.

The calendar on the wall wasn’t very interesting on its own. Even with the doodles of flowers and stars that Homura had drawn forever ago in her original timeline, it was pretty mundane and boring, so much so that Homura usually forgot that it was there. Except this time it was different. The day that she woke up was different usually timelines looped back to May 16th, her release date from the hospital but for some reason this time, the tally marks on the calendar marked that it was not May 16th, but May 13th. A full three days before the start of every other timeline.

It should have been impossible however, Homura was a time-traveling magical girl that had traded her soul away to a demon raccoon in exchange for unholy powers. She was living proof that nothing was impossible.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Homura exited her hospital room, walked through halls of frozen-in-time nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors and exited the building. She walked through the streets of unmoving children and their parents and pets before diving into a bush to resume time and change into her school clothes as well as taking out her braids. Roaming around and her magical girl clothes would have probably raised some unwanted attention. But now that she was changed and out of the hospital, where could she go? She had a house in every timeline, she supposed she could go there but it was still morning and therefore it would be more difficult to sneak into the house and use magic on it because more people were out. Just as she was considering squatting in a cafe or library until dark, she caught sight of a familiar pair of golden drill pigtails down the sidewalk, about to enter an apartment building.

 

“Ms. Tomoe!” Homura called, standing up and running toward the veteran magical girl. Mami stopped and turned around. Because it was Sunday, Mami wasn’t wearing her school uniform, but a yellow floral dress, a pink sweater, and white tights but Homura could still recognize her from a mile away.

 

Mami faced Homura. She asked, “Can I help you, Ms….?”

 

“Homura Akemi, Ms. Tomoe,” Homura replied.

 

Mami smiled. “Well, Ms. Akemi, you obviously go to my school, but I don’t recall meeting you. How do you know my name and what can I do for you?”

 

“True, I do go to Mitakihara Middle, but that’s not how I know you,” Homura said. Mami frowned, about to ask another question, but Homura raised her left hand revealing her soul gem ring and purple diamond that was indefinitely painted on her middle finger. Mami gasped and her eyes grew and brightened at the proof that she wasn’t the only magical girl in the city.

 

Homura wasn’t sure why, but a sensation started to grow in her gut, a pull towards Mami. She felt like she needed to tell Mami everything about the timelines and the truth about witches. She wanted to confide in her, which was strange because Mami usually took the truth about their soul gems harshly. Homura still remembered the timeline where Sayaka corrupted and became a witch for the first time, the one where Mami had a mental breakdown and killed Kyoko and had Homura tied up and Homura felt completely helpless- no. She wouldn’t think about how scary that was. Mami was different in every timeline. She wasn’t like Sayaka, destined to become the very monster that she fought against, she changed every time Homura restarted the loop, so maybe she could be trusted. Besides, a part of Homura had always thought that if she was going to tell someone about her miserable experiences with her powers- though it would usually be out of the ordinary for Homura to follow through with that desire, what with her constant mindfulness to keep her emotions under lock and key - that it would be Mami whom she would tell.

 

This entire timeline was strange. That had already been proven by the addition of three days, so maybe telling Mami about her past- a strange thing to do- wouldn’t be so bad. She took a deep breath.

 

“I need to speak to you. I have a lot to tell you about” Homura said.

 

Mami met her eyes “Of course, Ms. Akemi. Come inside, I’ll put on some tea. You can tell me everything.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, hey look, it's Mami Tomoe because she's amazing. Also, this is not Homu X Mami, Mami is just there for Homu because, again, Mami is amazing.
> 
> Also, yes! This is the Au that I talked about on the hell hole of a text fic that I made. Th group chat is on hold right now until I can set up everything in this story. The text fic actually takes place in a point in the au that is far from what we have now.
> 
> pls comment, I worked hard


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